1. Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a liquid crystal display.
2. Discussion of the Background
A liquid crystal display is currently one of the most widely used flat panel displays, and includes two display panels on which electric field generating electrodes such as a pixel electrode and a common electrode are formed, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the two display panels. The liquid crystal display displays an image by generating an electric field on a liquid crystal layer by applying a voltage to the field generating electrodes, determining alignments of liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer through the generated field, and controlling polarization of incident light.
Among the liquid crystal displays, a vertically aligned mode liquid crystal display, in which liquid crystal molecules are aligned so that long axes thereof are perpendicular to the upper and lower panels while the electric field is not applied, has been in the limelight because its contrast ratio is high and a wide reference viewing angle can easily be implemented.
In order to implement a wide viewing angle in a vertically aligned mode liquid crystal display, a plurality of domains with different alignment directions of the liquid crystal may be formed in one pixel.
As means of forming the plurality of domains, a method of forming cutouts such as minute slits on the field generating electrode is used. According to this method, the plurality of domains may be formed by rearranging the liquid crystal molecules using a fringe field formed between edges of the cutouts and the field generating electrodes facing the edges thereof.
For example, liquid crystal displays having a domain-forming member may include a VA mode liquid crystal display that includes domain-forming members formed at both the upper and lower substrates, and a patternless VA mode liquid crystal display having minute patterns formed only at a lower substrate but not on an upper substrate. A display area is sectored into a plurality of domains by the domain-forming members, and liquid crystal molecules in each domain are generally inclined in the same direction.
Recently, a method for providing a pretilt to the liquid crystal molecules in the absence of an electric field has been developed to improve a response speed of the liquid crystal while providing a wide viewing angle. For the liquid crystal molecules to have the pretilt towards various directions, an alignment layer having various aligning directions may be used, or an alignment aid for providing the pretilt to the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer is added to be hardened after applying the electric field to the liquid crystal layer. The alignment aid hardened by heat or light such as ultraviolet rays may provide the pretilt to the liquid crystal molecules in a predetermined direction. In this instance, to generate the electric field to the liquid crystal layer, the voltage is applied to the respective electric field generating electrodes.
However, in order to manufacture the liquid crystal display including the alignment aid for providing the pretilt, the alignment aid and the subsequent hardening process using ultraviolet rays may be required, thereby resulting in a new processing line for an additional process and an additional cost. Accordingly, the manufacturing cost of the liquid crystal display is increased, the additional manufacturing equipment is required, and the manufacturing process is complicated.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form any part of the prior art nor what the prior art may suggest to a person of ordinary skill in the art.